§ 6. Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of statistics which show that in the last three years there were 1,000 accidents of which 44 were fatal on the A.8 Glasgow-Edinburgh road, he will now authorise the completion of the dual carriageway from Glasgow to Edinburgh.
§ Mr. MaclayI am puzzled by the hon. Member's figures as official records show, for the period in question, 173 accidents involving personal injury on the length of A.8 between the Edinburgh and Glasgow boundaries, 36 of which were fatal. As regards the reconstruction of this road, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my hon. Friend, the Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Willis) on 15th November.
§ Mr. DempseyWill the Secretary of State bear in mind that the figures are quoted from the journal of a very important road authority? Was he aware of them when he made his statement to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Willis)? Will he bear in mind that many of the accidents on this road occur as a result of overtaking and meeting other vehicles head-on, and that that fatal element could be removed by having a dual carriageway from Glasgow to Edinburgh?
§ Mr. MaclayI would be the last to talk down the seriousness of the situation on this road, but I must re-emphasise that one of the facts which we have to face in this problem is that all the evidence suggests that about half of the accidents on this road occur at junctions, while very few can be definitely attributed to the three-lane layout as such.